Putting Asia capabilities at the centre of your 2018 growth strategy
With the festivities of January now behind us, and the lunar new year now upon us, it is timely to take stock of your training and capability development goals for 2018. Both on an individual level, and organisation wide, now is the time to put strategies in place to ensure your ambitions for 2018 are achievable.
Whether you are looking for a personal career booster or an enterprise-wide solution, Asia capabilities need to be high on this list.
With growth rates of around 6.5 percent, emerging Asian markets like China, India, and Southeast Asia will once again be the powerhouse of the world economy in 2018.
In the competitive global environment, knowing how to customise your product or service to reach new customers, understand evolving sector trends, and negotiate successfully with Asian investors or business partners, are musts for all businesses that are seeking to grow.
As Australia’s recent Foreign Policy White Paper recognised, “building the capability of Australian business to successfully engage in Asian markets” is essential to bolstering the nation’s diverse commercial interests in this dynamic region.
As the national centre at the forefront of these efforts, Asialink Business is delighted to announce the appointment of Ms Donna Webster as the new Director of Capability Development. Donna will play an integral role in designing and delivering highly customised and targeted Asia capability solutions for the organisation’s diverse clients.
Donna brings extensive Asia experience and a proven track record of leadership in strategy, change management and executive education. She has excelled in diverse senior roles across sectors including tourism, international education, information technology, industrials, and government.
Asialink Business CEO, Mukund Narayanamurti, says the appointment reflects Donna’s exemplary performance and existing track record.
“Donna brings tremendous energy and expertise to this role. She will provide invaluable leadership of Asialink Business’ capability development programs, as we work to expand our portfolio.
“Donna will play an integral role in tailoring these opportunities to the unique needs of Australian growth industries, and ensuring the workforce has the capabilities needed to engage successfully with Asia.”
Read the Q&A with Donna below for her top tips on how organisations can put Asia capabilities at the centre of their growth strategies in 2018.
Q: It has been well established that businesses with higher levels of Asia capabilities achieve stronger financial returns in Asia. Who needs to be involved in developing these capabilities at the organisational level?
Donna: Asia capabilities are a strategic enabler for the entire business. Importantly any change in capability must begin with senior stakeholder buy-in. As we saw in the data from Asialink Business’ Match Fit report, the level of Asia capability at the C-suite level is low. We need to elevate the level of ‘conscious awareness’ of the value that Asia capabilities bring to Australia and to businesses.
Additionally, while the active buy-in of senior leadership is essential, it is also important to foster Asia capabilities from the ground-up, as well as to cultivate the skills of middle managers and the next generation of leaders.
Q: What underpins and effective Asia capability strategy?
Donna: Just as there is no one blueprint for success when doing business with Asia, the specific Asia capability requirements of every business are unique. There are multiple factors to consider.
For example, cultural intelligence is one of the core fundamentals. Doing business with Asian customers, clients or suppliers requires a deep understanding of the cultural factors that impact business relationships and decisions.
Q: Can you give an example of the specific types of skills that are required?
Donna: Whether you are looking to cinch a winning deal or form a long-term partnership with an Asian investor or client, knowing how to negotiate and achieve influence is critical. But this requires specific tools and frameworks for success - It is important to learn how to anticipate and manage cultural differences and understand how to apply cross-cultural negotiation skills to true-to-life business challenges.
Q: The opportunities with Asia have been ‘on the radar’ to some extent for many businesses for more than a decade now, is this more general level of awareness enough?
Donna: In today’s competitive global marketplace, it is necessary to develop and apply deep sector and industry specific insights. Across all of Australia’s growth industries, like food and agriculture, medical technology and pharmaceuticals, tourism, and international education, a ‘general’ level of understanding of the business opportunities in Asia is simply not enough.
Take the tourism sector, for instance. With around 1.2 million Chinese tourists now visiting Australia annually, tourism operators and service providers need to develop niche skills and cultural insights. They need to be able to understand the different service requirements of Asian visitors, and how to customise their products and services, for example.